What Did We Know, and When Did We Know It?

Feminina O'Ladybrain

March 1

Confused spoilers for some story and side gigs in Phantom Liberty

Butch:

Played. Met Alex. That was a cool scene. I take back some of the stuff I said about Idris. I think part of his problem, and this is understandable given the man's body of work, is that he doesn't quite know how to act against the player. When he was doing a scene that was obviously mocapped with another actor, he was fine. Him and Alex? Good! Him and V? Less so. I guess it really is a different skill set.

Did a gig that required finding a guy with an occular implant and killing a lot of scavs. Let the guy go, immediately regretted it, hope that doesn't come back to bite me. How'd you guys play that one?

I'm kind of loving the THEME. Sure, games ask "What do you believe in?" all the time. Pick a side! Be a paragon or a renegade! Whatever! This game is asking "Is it even worth it to believe in anything? Is it smart? Is the 'correct' answer 'fuck it all?'" We don't get that in games. Heroes, in games, have a PURPOSE. It's a Great and Noble Purpose. "Fuck it all" is not usually an option we're given, and, in the rare cases we are, the game obviously frowns on us picking it.

Here? I have a feeling "fuck it all" is the way to go. That's interesting.

Feminina:

Guy with an ocular implant...I can't quite remember what that was. But I have definitely killed a lot of scavs, and I definitely think that things might come back to get us, or not, in ways not based on whether we do the "right thing", whatever that is. There is a lot of "no right thing" going on in this game.

Loothound:

Yeah, I don't remember that mission in particular either. My general attitude towards scavs is to just kill them. They just kidnap people to steal their chrome, and I have bad memories of waking up in a bathtub full of ice after getting cold cocked (in the braindancy sense) by scavs. This game doesn't offer many clear right and wrongs, but as far as I'm concerned ridding the world of some scavs is a good.

I think you're right, Butch, about the seeming lack of an overarching moral to this game's stories. So many of the situations we run into are so complicated and gray, it seems like the only right answer is to pick the side you feel most comfortable with and try to stick with it. I had my tarot read by Misty again, after finding all of the Dogtown murals, and the basic takeaway was to just be true to yourself and let everything else fall as it may. That way "even if you fail, you did it as yourself," or something like that.

I played a lot last night, and reached a DECISIVE MOMENT!!! in the Phantom Liberty story. Unsurprisingly, there was no clear indication of what the right or wrong, good or bad, decision was. You kind of just make the best choice you can and go with it.

Butch:

Killed a bunch of dudes, you find this guy named Hasan in a cage as a hostage, says the thing you need is in his head. I freed him and Johnny's all "First he bamboozles the corpos, then he bamboozles you. 2-0 Hasan." Johnny, not helping.

Loothound:

Oh, I remember that one. I let him go, too. I think my general guiding principle on things like that is to be more lenient to people the more of a victim of circumstance I see them as. That gets complicated, because a lot of times they did bad things that put them in the position of being a victim, but since Night City is so good at forcing all of us to do bad things I try to be as understanding as I can.

Butch:

Or make no choice. I think adding Johnny's (rather conveniently not mentioned until now) military service is an interesting backdrop. Here are Reed and Alex, two people so dedicated to purpose and country that they've spent seven years in dogtown just waiting because they BELIEVE. Contrast that to Johnny in the military.

Of course, one could counter that Johnny is also the truest of the true believers in his OWN ideology. He doesn't believe nothing. He stormed Arasaka tower for fuck's sake.

Maybe we're supposed to take away that believing in Nothing is still believing in Something. Everything is taking a side, somehow.

I'll likely have more on this when I actually finish. Lord knows when that'll be, but I'm trying!

Loothound:

Yeah, I also reacted to the reveal about Johnny's military past with a 'uh-huh.' Maybe Johnny's the exemplar of this, from an attitude towards the world perspective. In a world where there are no pure causes, you just do the best you can and be fierce about what you ultimately decide to hold to. Believe in something, then be willing to act from that belief. W can return to where Reed and Alex stand in relation to all of this when people have done a couple more missions for the story.

Also, this game is getting into my head. I was just at the gym, and I was finishing a set I noticed a guy out of the corner of my eye. A glowing EXIT sign was right above his head like a little ghostly red box. My brain immediately went, "ooo, Epic loot." Ssss bad, man.

Butch:

Nah, don't worry that the games in your head until you start trying to activate and/or blow shit up with your mind.

Feminina:

Wait, didn't we know Johnny was in the military? I thought we'd heard at some point that that was how he lost his arm. Maybe not, it's all a haze at this point.

But it does certainly present an interesting counterpoint to Reed and Alex's experience.

Hm.

And by "at some point" I mean at some point before he just mentioned in this specific DLC that that's how he lost his arm.

Again, it's all a blur.

Butch:

Yeah, this is the problem with taking three years off in between the main game and this.